It may have taken two years, but construction workers in Meriden, Conn., finally will have access to well-paying quality construction jobs on two major renovation projects at local high schools after the Meriden City Council voted this week to uphold a project labor agreement (PLA).

Dozens of Georgia union members urged their state lawmakers to block several anti-worker bills now before the state House and Senate in the Georgia AFL-CIO’s annual Lobby Day Thursday. At the same time, they celebrated the passage of a resolution that honors Hurricane Sandy relief workers from Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 84 and Georgia Power who traveled to New Jersey and elsewhere to help repair and recovery efforts.

While government in Washington, D.C., remains divided and marked by long-term gridlock, governments in the states are much less divided. Of the 50 states, 37 now feature state governments where the governor and majorities in both legislative houses are controlled by one party—24 of those are controlled by Republicans. Extreme, anti-working family Republicans have repeatedly assaulted the rights of people in recent years and, by all accounts, the trend looks to expand in 2013. Working families are mobilized and fought back in 2012 and will continue to fight in 2013. The response to the "right to work" for less push in Michigan was so strong, that governors in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have since declared that they won't push for right to work in their states.

If you’re a football fan, tonight’s the night. The first game of the 2012 National Football League season—between the Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys—will kick off at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

There’s plenty of excitement about the football matchup (even with replacement workers subbing as referees), but the construction workers who built the stadium can feel an extra surge of pride in the work they completed two years ago under a project labor agreement (PLA).

The second phase of the Silver Line Metrorail project to Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia was nearly ready to move—but now it’s mired in a lot of noise over the proposed inclusion of a project labor agreement (PLA)—even though a PLA was used successfully on the first phase. Project labor agreements are pre-hire agreements between labor and management that require all construction jobs be filled by local workers, include diversity requirements, establish wages and work rules covering overtime, working hours and dispute resolution and ensure safety guidelines on the jobsite are enforced.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law this week a bill that says local governments cannot issue blanket prohibitions on project labor agreements (PLAs) without losing state funding for public works projects. Los Angeles and San Francisco recently approved PLAs for projects that will create tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs. But other cities—including San Diego— have tried to ban the agreements.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced an agreement that will enable the construction of an overhead, high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission line to deliver 3,500 megawatts of renewable power from neighboring states. With a project labor agreement in place, the project will create 1,450 jobs that maintain the highest safety, diversity and wage standards.

A federal judge has ruled that Michigan’s ban on the use of project labor agreements—pushed by Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and anti-worker lawmakers—is unconstitutional. The suit was brought by the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council.

A new project labor agreement (PLA) between the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council (SFBCTC) and Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) will create thousands of new jobs for members of 28 Bay Area unions.

A new study suggests one path to helping people struggling in today’s economy find their way into the middle class, via Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for large-scale construction projects. Among the most successful PLAs, the Cornell University study found, are those that incorporate Community Workforce Agreements born of partnerships between community organizations, unions and employers. Community workforce provisions require the hiring of local residents on construction projects, and often target specific populations, including low-income people, women and veterans.